Archives for September 2012

I have been asked repeatedly to post why I will not endorse active fermentation in a Fido and what I have found about the issues of pressure, carbon dioxide build-up and such in ferments. Do they produce ferments of the same quality at a cheaper price? If they hurt it, how much and what do I loose? Is a separate airlock really necessary or will just the seal that makes it airtight do? These questions have been swirling for weeks.

I finally had the time this week to sit down and begin pulling my notes from the last few months together. I will link to and discuss just a handful of studies in this first part. This is the first post in a series on carbon dioxide and pressure. There’s more to come. Many thanks to those of you who have waited patiently for this post, appreciating that real life and my family has to come first for even the busiest of bloggers. If you’d like to see more fermentation posts I have written, check out the Related Posts section below for plenty of links and great info. We also have a fermentation class where you can learn more about fermentation, how to use and care for the vessels and how to make a wide variety of ferments and you receive free access to our Real Food Cooking School as a bonus. We also have a facebook group if you’d like to chat with others.

Pressure and Fermentation

First, let’s discuss the pressures involved in fermentation. From the information I could find, a separate, three-piece airlock burps itself as low as .1 psi, depending on the type. That’s pretty low. I couldn’t find any information about water moat fermentation vessels such as the Harsch Crock, however I must assume that they are similarly low, because they do not produce the characteristic pop/hiss that pressurized vessels give when opened (not to be confused with the hiss that can occur when gas is escaping through the airlock on a very active ferment) and you don’t see the mad rush of dissolved carbon dioxide returning to being a gas and rushing to escape. With this low of a pressure, carbon dioxide isn’t forced to dissolve into the brine and instead remains a gas, working its way up through the ferment and out of the airlock- that’s the little bubbles you see in the veggies and bubbling through the airlock. If the CO2 dissolves, you can’t see it. All of the gas in a ferment being visible and having an easy route of escape while preventing any outside air from getting in is a good thing.

I found varying quotes for the psi of different ferments- for example, pickles average around 15 psi. Psi is pound-force per square inch. A hermetic container with an off-gassing ferment in it that is very active (think water kefir) could easily build up pressures in excess of 15 psi, even if it does release small amounts of gas on occasion as some people have reported a Fido does. I strongly suspect from personal experience and in talking with others that water kefir can go higher than that. A realistic pressure test would have to take into account both the psi, the varying pressures in the different stages of fermentation and the length of time involved in a complete ferment.

This week on The Living Kitchen, Jeff and I discuss 72-hour kits, sometimes called Bug-Out Bags, for real foodies and those with food intolerances. We discuss what to do for family members of any age and tips and tricks to make any situation where you have to use a BOB less stressful.

You can listen at this link or use the embedded player above. You can download our episodes on iTunes, through our RSS feed or click here to listen on Blog Talk Radio 8AM EST today or anytime thereafter on podcast. You can also listen to the episode using the embedded player below. You can see the last ten episodes on our Radio Show page, or you can view all of our past episodes on our show page at the PRN website.

In the last six weeks, my diet changes have put my energy through the roof. You may have noticed that the blog has been pretty quiet recently- I’ve only been posting the podcasts and Traditional Tuesdays. We took advantage of my new-found energy and went on a much needed family vacation last week to Williamsburg, VA and the Colonial Williamsburg homeschooler’s month. We walked about 20 miles in the seven days we were gone between Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. I gained a good bit of muscle and lost some fat. I feel great and I actually gained weight due to the increase in muscle, but my clothes are fitting better. I stayed low-carb paleo through the trip. I’m still very hungry so I’m not attempting to diet or restrict calories, I’m just eating what I need for now so long as it is gluten-free, grain-free and falls within a paleo diet, while my body resets itself. I’ll share more about that and the trip later this week.

CTF is primarily a food blog, but so much about nutritional choices is a natural outgrowth of home-making. I take a holistic approach to all things involving my children, my food and my home. I try, as much as is practical, to be a minimalist. However, due to my health and lack of energy pre-diet change, we’ve had some build-up of clutter in the house and it has got to go. I have all of my children’s baby clothes stored in the basement in big, Rubbermaid tubs. We still have some boxes of craft supplies and books we have’t unpacked since we moved in almost five years ago!

So we’re home from our trip, and I’m pumped up and have the energy to declutter and get the house in order before the holidays. Would you like to come join me? We’ve set up a Facebook group for daily encouragement and sharing.

Thirty Bags in Thirty Days begins October first. The challenge is to remove at least one bag to the garbage, charity or giveaway each day. You also work to make sure everything is organized and in the right location. This will prepare the way for new holiday gifts and a less stressful holiday.

I’d love to have you come join me! I know most moms complain they there is just too much stuff in their house. Fall is a great time to declutter, because you can use the extra space and time for the holidays. In the group, we’ll be discussing decluttering strategies, getting family members to help, guiding children is releasing their attachment to unneeded items and more.

We have a new time! Our show is now on Wednesdays at 8 AM Eastern, 7AM Central! Have breakfast with us!

This week on The Living Kitchen, Jeff and I discuss preparedness for non-toxic cleaners and personal care. Beyond food, having a solid plan to care for your home and family’s personal needs will lessen your stress in an emergency.

You can listen at this link or use the embedded player above. You can download our episodes on iTunes, through our RSS feed or click here to listen on Blog Talk Radio 8AM EST today or anytime thereafter on podcast. You can also listen to the episode using the embedded player below. You can see the last ten episodes on our Radio Show page, or you can view all of our past episodes on our show page at the PRN website.

New this week, our show is moving to Wednesdays at 8 AM Eastern, 7AM Central! Have breakfast with us!

This week on The Living Kitchen, Jeff and I discuss the seven ways to store fruits and vegetables in a real food storage program: gardening, root cellaring, home canning, store bought, dehydrating, lacto-fermenting and freezing.

You can listen at this link or use the embedded player above. You can download our episodes on iTunes, through our RSS feed or click here to listen on Blog Talk Radio 8AM EST today or anytime thereafter on podcast. You can also listen to the episode using the embedded player below. You can see the last ten episodes on our Radio Show page, or you can view all of our past episodes on our show page at the PRN website.

On Friday, Jeff and I will be presenting at the Self-Reliance Expo in Hickory, NC. Friday from 1-2:30, we will do a program on Real Food Preparedness for Kids and Families. After the presentation, we will take questions.

If you’re in the area, swing by and say hello! We will be at the PRN booth when we aren’t speaking.

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Meet KerryAnn

I'm KerryAnn Foster, a crazy vibrant Jesus Freak with a heart full of hope. I'm not afraid to love on the least of these or get my hands dirty. This blog is my journey from ineffective, uptight, obese wallflower to a woman on fire for God and living the most vibrant, passionate life possible!

I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband, Jeff, and our two teens. I blog about self-confidence, health and home, homeschooling and living a vibrant, wide-open Jesus-centered lifestyle. I have over seventeen years of real food, natural lifestyle and health experience. We have homeschooled our children since birth and both Jeff and I run home-based businesses. We're crazy, we know it, and we love every second of it!

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